Saturday, June 26, 2010

Latest build..Dan Craft FTL 8'0" 6pc. 3wt.

Here is a recently finished rod for a friend who wanted me to build him a multipiece back up dry fly rod..after casting this one, this too has become another of my favourite rods for dry fly fishing..this is the first time that I'm building an DC FTL blank and this one it might be one of Dan's best action for dry flies (just like the good old Signature III or Signature IV series) and I am amazed of how light, crisp and smooth it feels in the hand, good power reserve for those longer casts, good accuracy, no secondary vibrations every time I make a cast, either short or long..to me, it feels just like a regular 2 or 4 piece rod and even smoother..and most important of all is that it really "paints" the fly on the water..meaning that the transfer of energy is very fluid, a quality that many graphite rods don't have..

Blank: Dan Craft FTL803-6
Guides: Light wire snakes
Seat: Struble D2 Aluminium/Cocobolo
Cork: Custom cigar grip
Thread: Chinese red silk
Rod's action: med-fast


Despite the multiple ferrules, this rod is featherlight and casts amazing..it's a great tool for sneaking up on remote creeks or lakes and casting dries to spooky wild trouts..




If you wanna pack light and head up to the high mountains, or fish a remote backcountry creek, then this might be the rod for you!


Thankx for stopping by everyone!!


3 comments:

chill_george said...

Amazing rod and pics George!!
For sure it's a great travel&creek fishing rod!

Emilian said...

I am the owner of the rod, and I must say it is truly a fabulous rod. Last week I fished it on a German River, Rote Traun, dry fly only. And what a fishing day that was! Have any of you ever fished to exhaustion? In 6 hours I've caught well over 100 trouts, between 35 and 45 cm in length, and the rod was tested to the max. Great tippet protection, great power reserve, fine presentations capabilities, great both on short casts and long casts, really spot-on in roll casts and over shoulder casts. The rod felt more of a 2 piece rod, crisp and precise, surprisingly light in hand with an impressive power swing. I would say it is one of the best, if not the best travel rod. I own a couple of top of the line fly fishing rods and I must say that theFT Light is in most of the situations as good if not better than a Sage Z-Axis or TXL. It is hard to find a rod that has 45 cm when packed, loads perfectly for short cast on pocket fishing, is excellent for cast over 15 meters, allows precise and delicate presentations with dry flies between 22 and 10 in size, feels alive on a 15 cm trout and makes a 45 cm trout give up in under a minute, protects perfectly 7x and 6x tippets, balances with a Ross or Sage Click reel, weights under 100 grams, has a progressive fast action and cost under 300 dollars. So, at least for me, the FT Light 8'0" 6 pc, 3wt is THE travel rod, no matter is I fish a remote small creek, a small alpine lake or a mid sized river abroad. Thanks, George!

George said...

Thankx for the kind words Emilian..it's great to know that you like the rod! Two more are on the way (8'6pcs.3wt and 9'6pcs.5wt)for a long expected high alpine lake fishing trip in august!! Can't wait to hook a 50 cm trout on them..The 5wt. is very light too and will be a blast for streamers and windy days..
Best regards,
George